Monday, January 26, 2015

A little catchup of the knitting variety

Catching up, that is. Not the red stuff. Though I did knit with some red stuff, come to think of it.
I made four hats in December, knitting on first one, then another, over the course of the day, depending on which recipient might be home at what particular time. To make it even more interesting, all the hats involved two-color knitting in three different techniques.

There were two of Top of the World,* an easy alternating of two colors. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take any pictures. Yeah...

(It's really a darker purple than the picture, but I can seldom get purple to show up properly.) I'd never brioched before, so that was an interesting journey.

Last but not least, a red and white Weeping Willow in double-knitting. (One of my favorite techniques!)

I made this one for my dad, who prefers to wear it folded jauntily like this:

Using three techniques that were so similar, and so so different, all at the same time? I didn't dare try to knit on autopilot, since my fingers could unexpectedly take off in any of several directions. I'd start a row in corrugated ribbing and then discover I'd completed it in double knitting, with a couple of brioches in the middle somewhere. Strict attention had to be paid at all times, no matter how interesting the movie was getting. But I love the hats I ended up with, and the recipients were all pleased, so it was worth all the tinking.

Of course, not everyone got hats. Some people got Hot-Chocolate-on-a-Stick and Homemade Truffles. I learned to make marshmallows for this gig (plain and peppermint!), made caramel, and chocolate blocks, cut them all into squares and poked them with sticks to make choc-peppemint cocoa and choc-caramel cocoa. Just add hot milk and swizzle away. The truffles were chocolate-peppermint and chocolate-hazelnut. Messy but tasty.

All in all, a pleasant but sticky holiday.

* I have to tell ya, I loved knitting this pattern. My daughter bought it for me at NH S&W last year as a Mother's Day gift, so I knit her and her fella each one for Christmas. Great pattern, fun to knit!